The descendants of the Habsburg monarchy have confirmed they want to sell a Transylvanian castle mythically linked to the fictional Count Dracula.The family were turfed out of Romania’s 14th-Century Bran Castle by the communists after World War II.

It was returned to them in 2006 after a long legal battle.

But now Dominic Habsburg, a New York architect and son of the late Romanian Princess Ileana, says he is willing to sell it back for $78m (£40m).

The local council has said it is willing to buy the castle, one of the country’s top tourist attractions.

It wants to prevent the castle being turned into a hotel or theme park, and is in the process of investigating a bank loan.

However, Romania’s culture minister said the local authorities would be “stupid” to pay such a hefty price.